In many climates it is common for ice to form on the surface of lakes and rivers and the like during winter months. In the spring, the formed ice melts unevenly such that the ice in some regions breaks up faster than others. One particular problem can occur when ice and snow melts in one region but thicker ice upstream forms a dam resulting in flooding in surrounding regions due to the inability of the ice to be broken up more quickly. Accordingly it is desirable to assist in breaking up ice during spring thaw across various bodies of water to avoid flooding.
Some proposed solutions to assist in breaking up ice more quickly on rivers and the like involves the use of compounds to assist in melting the ice, however such compounds including chemicals and salts and the like can result in considerable environmental damage.
Some other prior art proposed solutions to assist in breaking up ice involve use of a circular saw to forms lines of weakness in a body of ice as well as the use of a chain cutter. In each instance a very large machine is required relative to the size of the groove being formed in the ice. The resulting mechanisms are therefore very costly to build and repair if damaged. Furthermore known attempts to form lines of weakness in the form of grooves in ice using circular or chain type saws is very slow and cumbersome, requiring significant amounts of input power to drive the saws. Also, the large cumbersome shape of known circular or chain saws being supported in a generally fixed plane requires a fixed linear path to be followed when forming grooves in ice.